SEC championship remains in Atlanta at least through 2026

ATLANTA - The Southeastern Conference football championship game is staying in Atlanta for at least a dozen more years.

The league announced a new 10-year agreement to play the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a $1.4 billion retractable-roof facility under construction next door to the Georgia Dome. The new stadium is to open in 2017.

The agreement gives the SEC the option of adding two successive five-year extensions, which would keep the game in Atlanta through 2036.

The SEC championship game will be played the next two years at the Georgia Dome, its home since 1994.The 23-year-old dome will be demolished after the new stadium opens.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is serving mainly as the home of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, as well as the city's new MLS expansion soccer team, Atlanta United FC.